Speranza Theatre Company

10/15/2026

🎭 MEET THE CAST OF SYLVIA’S MOXIE — PART 2!

Our cast introductions continue as we spotlight three more artists helping bring Sylvia Dubois's extraordinary story to the stage!

✨ Jasmine Hawkins — Young Sylvia / Elizabeth

A New York-based actor, director, and creative storyteller whose work includes performances at the Apollo Theater, Miles Square Theatre, and Centenary Stage Company.

✨ Joseph Franchini — Dominucus Dubois / Ruffian 2 / Lawyer

A New York-based actor whose recent credits include Mae the Magnificent, The Land of Swollen Faces, and Zamboni. Joseph also received a Drama Desk nomination for his performance in The Navigator.

✨ Frank Hankey — Stage Directions

An accomplished performer with Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, and television experience. Frank previously appeared at the Apple Tree House as Mayor Hague in Margo Hammond's Horseshoe Empire.

WHEN: October 17 | 6:30 PM
📍 Museum of Jersey City History at The Apple Tree House
🎟️ Reservations required — seating is limited!

Reserve your seat at SperanzaTheatre.org.

10/13/2026

🎭 MEET THE CAST OF SYLVIA’S MOXIE

We're kicking off the week by introducing three of the talented performers bringing Sylvia’s Moxie to life!

✨ Laura E. Johnston — Senior Sylvia / Harry
An accomplished actor, director, and producer whose credits span theatre, film, and television, including Wu-Tang: An American Saga and To Kill a Mockingbird.

✨ Jackie Maruschak — Mistress Dubois / Man 1
An experienced performer whose career spans Off-Broadway, regional theatre, film, voiceover, and comedy.

Join us this Saturday for a developmental reading of Sylvia’s Moxie, followed by a talkback with playwright Margo Hammond.

📅 October 17 | 6:30 PM
📍 Museum of Jersey City History at The Apple Tree House
🎟️ Reservations required — seating is limited!

Reserve your seat at SperanzaTheatre.org.

10/03/2026

Meet the Artist: Tia Dionne Hodge 🎭

Meet Tia Dionne Hodge, director of Sylvia’s Moxie!
An actor, director, and award-winning writer, Tia brings an accomplished career across stage and screen to this powerful story. Her television and film credits include Not Okay on Hulu, FBI: Most Wanted, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and The Land of Steady Habits. Her plays have also received productions and readings at New Perspectives Theatre Company and Luna Stage.

A former National Poetry Slam Team Champion, Tia is also an accomplished writer whose work has appeared in multiple published collections. She shares writer, director, and producer credits for the award-winning short film Big Bully, which received Best Children Short Film at the Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes in 2019.

Under Tia’s direction, Sylvia’s Moxie brings audiences into the remarkable journey of Sylvia Dubois, from her birth into slavery on New Jersey’s Sourland Mountain to becoming a fiercely independent free woman.

Join us for this developmental reading and talkback with playwright Margo Hammond! Tickets can be purchased at SperanzaTheatre.org — Hurry! Seating is Limited!

📅 October 17, 2026 | 6:30 PM
📍 Museum of Jersey City History at The Apple Tree House

10/01/2026

AUDITION ALERT: Speranza Theatre Company is casting Petticoat Patriots, a play by Jennie Contuzzi featuring untold stories from the other side of the battlefield.

We’re looking forward to welcoming artists into the room and building the company that will bring these stories to the stage this November.

To schedule your audition, please visit our website: Speranzatheatre.org and select a time on Thurs 10/8.

📅 Auditions: October 8th, 2026
📍 Museum of Jersey City History
298 Academy Street, Jersey City, NJ

09/01/2026

🎭 Meet the playwright, Rosemary McLaughlin, behind D***s of Hoboken!

Speranza Theatre Company is proud to join JC Fridays on September 11 with a staged reading through our Women Playwrights Circle.

Rosemary McLaughlin (playwright) is a founding member of the Women Playwrights Circle @ Speranza Theatre Company. She’s been awarded multiple Fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts in both playwriting and poetry. She is currently writing Waiting for Caravaggio, an existential comedy about art, tourism and the arc of the moral universe. She received her MFA from Rutgers and directs the playwriting program at Drew University.

📅 Friday, September 11

⏰ 7:00 PM

📍 Museum of Jersey City History at the Apple Tree House
298 Academy Street, Jersey City

🎟 $10 suggested donation | Reservations required, seating limited.

Reservations: SperanzaTheatre.org

***sOfHoboken

08/25/2026

🎭 Calling All Young Actors — Speranza’s High School One-Act Festival Auditions Are Coming!
At Speranza Theatre Company, we believe young actors deserve more than an opportunity to perform—they deserve a space where their creativity is encouraged, their confidence is strengthened, and their voices are taken seriously. ❤️

Now, we’re ready to welcome the next group of young performers to the stage! 🌟 Speranza’s High School One-Act Play Festival gives students the opportunity to audition, collaborate, develop their craft, and experience the process of bringing theatre to life.

🎭 HIGH SCHOOL ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL AUDITIONS | GRADES 9-12 🎭

📅 Saturday, September 19, 2026
⏰ 10 AM–12 PM

📅 Sunday, September 20, 2026
⏰ 12 PM–4 PM

📍 Museum of Jersey City History
298 Academy Street, Jersey City, NJ

🎟️ Sign up for an audition at SperanzaTheatre.org or the link in our bio!

The photos featured in this post look back at Speranza’s production of Steel Magnolias, performed by Hudson Catholic students on April 19. We’re proud to highlight Speranza's very own: Abigail Degnan, actress, and Sarah Barbi, Director, whose work reflects exactly why nurturing the next generation of theatre artists is so important to us.

Whether you’re an experienced young performer or continuing to discover your voice onstage, we want to see what you can bring to the room. ✨

08/24/2026

🎭✨RECAP! What a wonderful evening of theatre and community!

Speranza Theatre Company, in collaboration with the Educational Arts Team, recently gathered at Camp Liberty for a reading of Radium Girls by D.W. Gregory as part of our Free Play Reading Series.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, picked up a script, and helped bring the story to life. Our Play Reading Series is all about making theatre accessible, creating opportunities to connect, and giving members of our community a chance to experience storytelling together—no acting experience required.
We’re grateful to our readers, collaborators, and everyone who continues to support Speranza’s work throughout Jersey City.

SAVE THE DATE 🎭✨ Stay tuned for the next opportunity to read with us TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th with our reading of CLUE! Details coming soon!📖💚

08/20/2026

Important day in history! Watch Alice Paul’s story https://www.speranzatheatre.com/votes-for-women-film-rental

On this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting the denial of the right to vote on the basis of s*x. The Library holds the records and library collection of the National Woman’s Party, which was instrumental in getting the legislation passed.

This collection includes hundreds of digitized photographs, showing party members, picket lines and protests. Explore the collection. ⬇️
https://www.loc.gov/collections/women-of-protest/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbloc

Image: Photograph of Alison Turnbull Hopkins with banner, "Mr. President How long must women wait for liberty," picketing for suffrage outside White House gate. January 30, 1917. Photograph published in "The Suffragist."

08/14/2026

Speranza Spotlight on KREWE of McGinley Square: this New Orleans style restaurant is Speranza's favorite spot for staff dinners! The food is always delicious (Shrimp Po Boy & Blackened Tofu Bowl not pictured because we ate them too quickly) and the beignets (pictured) are a MUST. These little balls of perfectly fried dough are made to order, served hot, and melt in your mouth!

Shout out to owners Hank & Anthony Tamburro for sharing your love of Cajun food - Jersey City is lucky to have you! If you haven't dined at KREWE yet... go!

07/26/2026

Register now for fall classes at speranzatheatre.org